In a generation where FPSs are king, is there still room for fighting games? Where do they fit?

[Now with edits!]

It's safe to say that my mom's theory of my video game habits being diluted down to "just a phase," have been proven false. Moreover, I've grown up in gaming to the point of, well, writing about them. This means I get the unfortunate pleasure of reflecting on the then versus the now. And feeling like a thousand-year-old vampire in the process

In this case, we have this newly invigorated energy in the fighting game genre. By "we" I mean, well, I'm not sure. The games industry seems to be interested in re-releasing all kinds of updated, HD-versions of games from yesteryear. Why should fighting games be any different?

This is a good problem (debated if this was the right word to use here) to have. Thanks to Street Fighter IV for kick starting this odd revitilization. It's been really interesting to see how game journalists and avid [general] gamers take to the retro-releases, King of Fighters, Mortal Kombat 9, and those darn Capcom games.

From what I've noticed, if an outlet doesn't hire someone from within a fighting game community (because there are several) then the reviews are from the angle of a casual-but-familiar enthusiast. This is assuming that a major outlet actually cares to make a connection with these communities, beyond that of a scandal. Scandal, of which, I've already written about at great length and don't care to revisit here.

But Isaiah, what does this have to do with current fighting games?

Lots, I'd like to think. Games are being seen as down payments and investments that will hopefully pay-off for those who stay dedicated with continued play post-release. Unfortunately, this generation has given birth to a tug-of-war between the entitled gamer, and the disconnected corporations that fund these passion projects*.

Yoshinori Ono fell ill from exhaustion while promoting Street Fighter X Tekken, a game that hasn't quite found favor in the hardcore community. Here's hoping to his healthy recovery.

I've never seen Ed Boon, Ono and Seth Killian more socially active than I have in the past year, almost to the detriment of their health. Community has always been important, and these guys know it. However, there is this growing divide that I haven't seen since around the Third Strike/Guilty Gear era. Where the general consumer couldn't make heads or tales of fighting games. They're being pushed out too fast and with no direction.

Fighting games evolved to being too technical. The characters, too weird [which, oddly enough, I thought characters gained personality apart from their stereotypes and style of dress].

Now we have games where built-in movelists are just a pause button-press away. Well, all except Skullgirls. But I will say, barring my feelings on the game overall, Skullgirls -- like many of current gen fighting games, has an amazing training mode.

Quietly, story is being improved. BlazBlue and Mortal Kombat are examples that there is room to make these games more than what they've always represented -- characters worth knowing more about. Don't get me wrong, the story in the best of these fighting games is pretty darn "Cynthia Rothrock-meets-Don 'The Dragon' Wilson." Baby steps.

A fighting game with an interesting story? Maybe there is something for people like us single-player warriors, in the future?

Could you imagine this in the 90s? The computer is actually showing you how to block a mix-up? The computer is trained to know what a mix-up is?! Maybe I'm having a "grandpa moment" and I'm surprised I can learn how to adjust the clock on my VCR. But there is a lot to be said to just figuring out how to do something on your own -- without aid.

I see storm clouds gathering. With streams showing the best and worst of a male-dominated community, I fear a future of further ostracized talented people. Like, real people. People with feelings, families and tons of personality. Real problems.

Or the latter. A future of gussied up poor-kids trying to put on a happy face for sponsors and live-stream organizations, with little-to-no money being acquired and furthering the growth of the community.

Community is a word I'm using fairly frivolously, but I feel it still applies. Though there are more people willing to play their Call of Duty's and Madden's online, fighting games are still best experienced with a physical person -- next to you. Talking s**t. Clowning. Asking for advice. Sharing stories.

Though Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters are getting major attention from MLG and IPL. Time will tell if the exposure of these games will bring more people into the fighting game community. Time will tell if these talented players will be paid beyond the table scraps they've humbly accepted over the past decade.

We once had years to learn one game. We had time to develop tastes and divide up our various dedications. Now games are as good as their next patch. They're as good as the netcode that binds us in a community that seems more estranged than the downloadible content we feel so dirty "unlocking."

Game companies don't know how to communicate that their game is worth playing. They don't know how we'll receive it. They don't know how to remain profitable, while delivering something that we've always loved. So Capcom hides half a character roster on a disc. Netherealm and Namco|Bandai release games where the online barely works a large portion of the time.

So what happens next?

No clue. The future is still hazy on how many blockbuster titles will exist on shelves in disc-form. Fighting games make up a small portion of sales when compared to that of a Call of Duty or Madden. I'm totally fine with that, but I'm not sure if Warner, Capcom and Namco will remain complacent.

With re-releases of Vampire Savior and HD-versions of Super Street Fighter 2. It's good to see new games like Arcana Heart 3 and Skullgirls gain ground in the indie games space.

Used games sales are a good excuse for online passes and witholding on-disc content to gamers. I'm sure there is a way that will appease both players and publisher/developers.

Hopefully games like Skullgirls will brighten a path for online sales. It's gonna be slow-going considering there is still a divide between console owners who have their units connected to the net, versus those who actually pay for games via their consoles virtual store.

One things for sure, there are a lot of fighting games to play and they were all released within the last six months. If they were given some more breathing room it would help myself and I'm sure other gamers figure out if they even like these games. It'd give us all a chance to give these games a fair shake.

Otherwise these games will be lumped in with the rest of the disposable art we take for granted. Don't believe me, just ask the Soul Calibur V community how active their online community is.

[shrugs]**

*because if it isn't a first-person shooter -- it's a passion project

**If you are interested in more of my shrug-worthy musings, feel free to visit my personal internet brogsite.

Here's a little insight into my semi-adulthood life. I have a 9-6 job which requires me to sit behind a computer and look at a screen of green and black numbers, half the time. The other half is spent hauling 50-to-60 pound boxes books up stairs and across the city [I work at a college bookstore]. You may have seen me tweet about it from time to time.

On Monday's & Wednesday's I go to the local university and dance [bboy] and teach others how to dance as well around 1030-midnight [yeah, no rest for the wicked]. When the time permits, I even try and practice with younger students earlier in the day, that is, if they show up on time. *Wags old teacher finger*

So, that alone is 50 hours of my week, gone. Time dedicated to something I have to do, and something I want to do.

When I finally make it home I'm either sending e-mails to write about more video game stuff for my personal internet website. Sorry, that's how I explain it to my mom. The word "blog" isn't in her vocabulary.

Or I'm ridiculously achy and braindead, from a day where people have treated me like a cog in a wheel. The last thing I wanna do is spend more time thinking hard about RPG strategy or execution errors in a fighting game. Hence my time with Team Fortress 2 has increased exponentially.

Now, earlier this year I made the foolish mistake of falling in deep lust with Demon's Souls, but as my job becomes more tedious and fighting game streams become more plentiful -- eBay has been seeing a lot of my business [don't tell my boss, or game publishers for that matter]. I've become envious of people who can play better than myself, I just haven't found the time to grind it out and level up.

That stack-o-games you see in the foreground are where my current interest lay [the stack in the background I hope to make it back to, one day]. It's the making time part that perplexes me. I usually write, or at least ponder writing about games on the weekends, which is typically when fighting game streams are on, which is currently my addiction.

Watching fighting game streams, weekly has probably sapped more of my time than actually playing fighting games. I couldn't tell you why, it just does.

So what say you? How do you make time for what you love? I've recently made progress. I've learned how to click the "X" when stream invites pop up on my feed. I've even put in some quality time with King of Fighters XIII, recently. Unfortunately, this means conquering Demon's Souls will have to wait for an even longer time.

And that's just it, I'm feeling guilty when I shouldn't. We work these hard hours or study for long lengths of time to get what we want. We should feel to do and play whatever we want. I'm just trying to figure out how to manage it as a, gosh, 30-year-old adult.